Cast Iron Spring Spacer Failure. (pics)

[BGJ]

The other day I noticed a crack in my overload spring spacer. I removed it only to find that it is made out of cast iron & is not even solid. It was broken completely in half. Knowing that if this thing fails & falls off, my rear axle would be loose, I decided to make it better.
I went to the local metal yard & bought some solid aluminum stock. Solid steel would work fine too.

Here is a picture of my overload springs, the broken spacer, unbroken spacer, & my new aluminum spacers.



Installed B4 u-bolts

[rod.10853]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting pics and info on this.

[BGJ]

Originally Posted by rod.10853

Very interesting. Thanks for posting pics and info on this.

Your welcome. It was funny, the other day I was at the auto salvage yard. There were about 5 ford pickups lined up so I went over to inpect the spacers on them. Only two of the four had them, of the two, one was broken just like mine. What a joke.

[rod.10853]

Originally Posted by BGJ

Your welcome. It was funny, the other day I was at the auto salvage yard. There were about 5 ford pickups lined up so I went over to inpect the spacers on them. Only two of the four had them, of the two, one was broken just like mine. What a joke.

Your overload spring setup is different than mine in that yours has more leafs above the spacer. Mine just has one leaf above the spacer. I work
that leaf and will definitely keep a close eye on that spacer now.

[BGJ]

Originally Posted by rod.10853

Your overload spring setup is different than mine in that yours has more leafs above the spacer. Mine just has one leaf above the spacer. I work
that leaf and will definitely keep a close eye on that spacer now.

Good idea. My Dad had this truck b4 me. He had a heavy Lance overhead camper & the stock suspension was a joke. He had to beef it up. He's an overachiever like me. Or I like him. It's a cool setup for sure. I like springs that smile, most Ford springs are quite flat.
Thanks again for the kind words, have a great evening.

[big sig]

My truck has a 6 inch rough country lift. The rear is about a 3 inch lift and 6 in the front. The rear sits about 1 inch lower in the rear. I do not have my factory block in there and that is the cause of that. I had the 35s on there with a leveling kit and it rubbed the springs. It drove me crazy. So I bought some 2 inch spacers put them on and then it rubbed the bumper and fender well. I then put on the 6 inch lift. I think it looks real good as it is. The only problem I have is when I'm towing it sags a good bit. You can see that if you look on my photobucket account. I am looking to take my lift off and put it back to stock so I can have a better advantage towing.

[BGJ]

Originally Posted by big sig

My truck has a 6 inch rough country lift. The rear is about a 3 inch lift and 6 in the front. The rear sits about 1 inch lower in the rear. I do not have my factory block in there and that is the cause of that. I had the 35s on there with a leveling kit and it rubbed the springs. It drove me crazy. So I bought some 2 inch spacers put them on and then it rubbed the bumper and fender well. I then put on the 6 inch lift. I think it looks real good as it is. The only problem I have is when I'm towing it sags a good bit. You can see that if you look on my photobucket account. I am looking to take my lift off and put it back to stock so I can have a better advantage towing.

I love the look of your truck. I didn't think it was 6 inches though. It looks real nice. Thanks for sharing all the particulars about your lift. Interesting about the way they squat when loaded. I put on the leveling kit, then it squatted worse than ever. From the factory they sit low in the front, so when you load up the rear they level out. I fixed this with an extra 5 springs of course. Do you have a helper spring on yours?
Thanks again for all the info.

[big sig]

I have an overload spring. I like the way you did your help spring. I thought about getting airbags but Im just going to go back to stock and then if I need help there I can get airbags.

[BGJ]

Thanks, I know you know alot about these trucks. Let me ask you this. My truck sits alot. Sometimes I go 3 weeks without starting it. I've heard it's bad for them, what do you think about that?

[tyhackman15]

Originally Posted by BGJ

Thanks, I know you know alot about these trucks. Let me ask you this. My truck sits alot. Sometimes I go 3 weeks without starting it. I've heard it's bad for them, what do you think about that?

That shouldn't hurt it at all. The problems come when you constantly take it easy and don't run it like it's made to, but still run it. That's what causes carbon build up etc...


When it's sitting it should be A ok. Mine sits for weeks at a time as well